NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP)

Nashville coach Barry Trotz says the two-time Norris Trophy
finalist is having his best season yet - by far.

''It's not even close,'' Trotz said Tuesday after practice.
''His consistency and his play this year is unparalleled compared
to the other years. I could even say those years that he was a
finalist he had some stretches where he was a little inconsistent.
This year he's been pretty darn good. He's leading us every
night.

''I can tell you this. Every coach in the league when they see
Shea Weber coming down their road, their best forwards are trying
to avoid him all the time.''

Weber has scored more goals (13) than any other NHL defenseman,
has skated 30 minutes or more in six different games and ranks
seventh in the league for blocked shots. He ranks second on the
Predators and sixth among all defensemen with 34 points. The
Predators are 10-1-2 when he scores a goal, including a 4-1 win
over Dallas on Monday night.

One of the league's hardest shots, Weber is so strong he ripped
a puck through the net for a sizzling goal at the Vancouver
Olympics counted only after they checked the replay. He was clocked
at 106 mph at the 2012 All-Star game skills competition, losing out
to Zdeno Chara of Boston each of the past two years.

Now Weber's also an alternate captain as Team Canada prepares to
defend its gold medal at the Sochi Olympics, joining Jonathan Toews
of Chicago with that honor behind captain Sidney Crosby of
Pittsburgh.

''That tells how important he is and how big a star he is in the
league, and we're pretty happy we got him,'' Trotz said.

The 6-foot-4, 233-pound Weber is humble enough that it's tough
to get many words out of him when asked about himself. He called
being an alternate captain a huge honor.

''You look at the guys in that room and how many captains there
are on their own club team, so it's definitely a bunch of great
leaders and definitely should be a bunch of fun,'' Weber said.

Weber's timing certainly is good. Nashville has won three of its
last four with Weber scoring three of the Predators' last 15 goals,
and he has 22 points (six goals, 16 assists) in his last 22 games.
No defenseman in the NHL has scored more points than Weber (14)
since Dec. 28. He also has nine power-play goals, which is the most
by any defenseman.

He also ranks fourth in the NHL averaging 26 minutes, 48 seconds
of ice time per game.

Predators forward Mike Fisher said they all know guys don't like
playing against Weber.

''It's really kind of a shame that he hasn't had a Norris so far
in my opinion,'' Fisher said. ''I've played with a lot of great D,
and he's the most well-rounded D I think that I've played with. Can
do it all, and he's having a great year, doing a lot of good
things. His name should definitely be, in my books, at the
top.''

Weber said his key this season simply is trying to play the same
way each night and trying to get the puck on net as much as
possible. He helped out enough in the 2010 Olympics close to his
home in Sicamous, British Columbia, tying for second among
defenseman with 6 points (2 goals, 4 assists) that he was named to
the tournament's all-star team.

''That's probably the most pressure a lot of guys have been
under I think on that Canadian team,'' Weber said. ''I know that
playing at home in Canada everyone expects you to win being there
in Vancouver.''

Weber and the Canadians will head to Sochi with similar
expectations, though playing on Russia's home ice will add to the
challenges.

''A lot of guys may not have even been to Russia before,'' Weber
said. ''It's definitely not going to be the same as Vancouver. I
think we're aware of that, and we know it's going to be a different
thing all on its own.''

Member Comments

Please note by clicking on "Post comment" you acknowledge that you have read the Terms of Use and the comment you are posting is in compliance with such terms. Be Polite. Inappropriate posts may be removed by the moderator.